(CNN) - Republican Sen. Rand Paul said he needs a heavy dose of political persuasion if he is to run for president in 2016.

Paul was asked about higher political aspirations on Friday. He said his wife owns both available votes in his family. “Both of them are ‘no’ votes right now,” he told the audience.Follow @politicalticker

Paul’s staff said he took his message to Detroit because he was in town to open a new Republican Party office there and because he thinks the city could be a model for other struggling areas around the country, including his home state of Kentucky.

But Paul has worked to strategically broaden his message beyond the Senate and his home state, which has added speculation to a possible presidential run.

The Detroit Economic Club is a fitting venue for a potential presidential candidate in the battleground state as it has “hosted every U.S. President since Richard Nixon,” its website says.

Paul proposed “Economic Freedom Zones” to “free up Detroit to bail themselves out.” He plans to introduce a bill on the economic zones in the Senate next week.

In his plan for parts of the country with unemployment at 1.5% higher than the national average, income taxes would be reduced to 5% and capital gains taxes would be eliminated. The payroll tax would also go down for both the employee and the employer, he said.

“The money would simply be left with its rightful owner,” Paul said.

Paul criticized the President Barack Obama for employing “traditional government stimulus” totaling $1 trillion during the recession that he said “hasn’t worked.”

After his speech, Paul was asked by an audience member about the auto bailout, a politically tricky topic for aspiring national Republicans. It is popular in Detroit and largely considered successful there.

While he hedged slightly by saying there are “debatable parts on both sides” of the issue, he said he would “prefer” a market-based approach opposed to “the direct bailout of any industry,” noting that that position “may not be popular in Detroit.”

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who had roots in Michigan, was pounded by the Obama campaign for not supporting the government bailout of the American auto industry. Romney lost the state.

Paul expanded beyond his economic plan to discuss the problems facing the Republican Party, saying it’s important to be more inclusive and embrace all types of people. He said the GOP needs more people with “tattoos” and “pony tails.”

He also said the Republican message can appeal to African-Americans, noting that only a small percentage of blacks supported Romney in 2012. According to CNN exit polls, Romney won 6% of the African-American vote last year.

“That’s not very good,” Paul said.

He said he could make inroads with minorities by talking about issues that directly and disproportionately have an impact on minority communities, including what he called the “out of control War on Drugs.”

Minority communities are “easy targets” for bad policies, Paul said, highlighting that Africa-Americans are four times more likely to be arrested for smoking marijuana. It’s not because “white kids in the suburbs” aren’t smoking pot, Paul said.

soundoff(39 Responses)

Sorry Rand, whatever you decide won`t change the fact that Christie is going to steamroll to the white house in 2016. Poor Hil-dogg will suffer the backlash from the ACA. Sorry liberals.

December 6, 2013 04:13 pm at 4:13 pm |

Donna

Logictox
We still have three more brutal years of deadlock in Washington before we can see who is next! We need a president that works for the people and not a party.
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And doesn't lie through his teeth and damage millions of American in the process.

December 6, 2013 04:14 pm at 4:14 pm |

Donna

Rudy NYC

Donna

Yes, it is a total family decision to run for President. If everybody isn't onboard with it, forget about it. And with the sleazy slimey leftists and their endless smear tactics and attacks, even on kids, it makes it essential for people to be ready to endure the slime barrage.
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Attacks on kids? Whose kids? What attacks are you talking about? Please, let us know who is guilty of this breach of protocol so that we can punish them politically. Can you do that for us, Donna?
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Sarah Palin's kids???? Come on Rudy, surely your memory can't be THAT bad from all the drinking!

@Rudy-The only thing that comes to mind from what Donna is saying maybe Bristol Palin. Just a guess.

December 6, 2013 04:19 pm at 4:19 pm |

Silence DoGood

@donna
"And doesn't lie through his teeth" WMD / al queada / mission accomplished
"and damage millions of American in the process." 1000's solders in body bags needlessly you know like dead
...never though you would be a Bush critic.

December 6, 2013 04:27 pm at 4:27 pm |

Rudy NYC

smith

@Rudy-The only thing that comes to mind from what Donna is saying maybe Bristol Palin. Just a guess.
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Ah, they criticized mom's christian for having a teenage daughter that was pregnant. I guess she's forgotten all about the constant evisceration that the right wing gave to poor Chelsea Clinton.

December 6, 2013 04:29 pm at 4:29 pm |

thinking outside the box

Donna

Yes, it is a total family decision to run for President. If everybody isn't onboard with it, forget about it. And with the sleazy slimey leftists and their endless smear tactics and attacks, even on kids, it makes it essential for people to be ready to endure the slime barrage.
______________________________________________

If a candidate, any candidate, uses their children to promote their campaign the children are absolutely fair game by the other side, whichever side that is. No one should be able to use their children as a campaign tactic but then cry foul when the other side goes after the children.

December 6, 2013 04:29 pm at 4:29 pm |

Rudy NYC

"Sarah Palin's kids???? Come on Rudy, surely your memory can't be THAT bad from all the drinking!"
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Theme of the day. Attack, attack the messenger while slipping in insinuations that Rudy's a drunk, hoping no one notices.

December 6, 2013 04:30 pm at 4:30 pm |

TOmmy G

Rudy NYC
Tommy G
But many of the western red states don't even control their land. The federal government controls most of the land in many red states abd refuses to relinquish it to the state. How much of California, New York, Massachusetsts, New Jersey, etc. do the feds own and control? Almost nothing.
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The largest national park east of the Mississippi is located in New York State. Adirondack Park measures 150 miles by 90.
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This is NOT federally owned land you buffoon!! Seriously Ridy, put the bottle down before you hurt yourself. The nonsense you post is getting really really bad.

December 6, 2013 04:31 pm at 4:31 pm |

tom l

Cue the "plagiarizing" comments here from the left. The best part is that they will make these comments while the Vice President of the United States (whom they love and adore) was busted for plagiarizing twice. Once in college (which I really don't care about because that was a very long time ago) and another time when he ran for president. But that's ok...IOIYAD

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Actually, it WASN'T okay when Joe Biden did it, and it cost him the chance to even RUN for President. However, your own words indicate that YOU'RE just peachy keen when a rethug does it. Who was it that said "'tis better to keep your mouth shut and be though a fool than to open it and remove all doubt"? Okay, now accuse me of being mean to you and thinking I'm "smarter and better" than you (your whiney accusations, babe) for calling you onto the carpet for your hypocrisy.

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Actually, you're completely wrong. I don't care that Biden did it. I don't care that Rand did it. Stuff happens. I'm just marveling in how much all of you lefties call him to the carpet for it while the very man you elected Vice President did it and that doesn't seem to matter. See, no hypocrisy. Consistent.

December 6, 2013 04:33 pm at 4:33 pm |

tom l

@Rudy
"You've had some beauties lately and this ranks up there. So "Detroit" is a city. "Michigan" is a state. Detroit has a city council and a mayor that make the economic decisions for that city. The governor runs the entire state. Do you know who Keith Butler is? He is the only republican that has been elected to the Detroit City Council since WWII. Really? You're going to try to claim that a repub is the reason for Detroit's bankruptcy? Really??
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Thanks, once again, for putting your obvious lack of knowledge of the facts on display for us, tom. I don't normally conduct classes but in your case I will make yet another special exception. Google " Michigan Interim Manager Detroit "

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An all timer. So the "Michigan Emergency Manager Detroit" is a repub and he's responsible for the bankruptcy but the 60+ years of 99.999% of the City Council that has been democrats doesn't? See....they had to go into bankruptcy based on the years of what happened in the past, not today. Sniffit? I need your help here. Am I missing something?

December 6, 2013 04:36 pm at 4:36 pm |

tom l

Rudy NYC

"Sarah Palin's kids???? Come on Rudy, surely your memory can't be THAT bad from all the drinking!"
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Theme of the day. Attack, attack the messenger while slipping in insinuations that Rudy's a drunk, hoping no one notices.

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Gosh Rudy, you mean you don't like it when someone makes up something and says it over and over again. Interesting. What a crybaby.